Hidden Among the Lost
by ShadowHexx771
Summary: Mido hates Link. And Link hates Mido. Until, that is, Link's seven year disappearance. When Link left, Kokiri Forest went to hell. Or, so that's how it seemed. When Link turns up again, what will become of Mido? Oneshot


**Author's Note**: I just had this thought floating through my head one day, started writing, couldn't stop. This is sort of... Mido's point of view for the many years Link was in the Kokiri Forest and his seven absent years.And, the end is more of my own twist. By the way, this takes place in Ocarina of Time. So, yeah. I know it's odd, a tad morbid. I like this story in a strange way, I've certainly never written anything like it, that's for sure. But you can see what your own opinion is. So, enjoy! And comments are appreciated as always. Man, I need to get my fix on The Legend of Zelda one of these days.

* * *

"_Mido! Here... I've pulled all the rocks out of your yard."_

"_Mido! Great Mido! Do you know where Saria is today?"_

"_Mido, you are looking stunningly handsome today."_

It was music to my ears. Those praises, those who came to me for advice. I knew I was the one everyone could count on. Great Mido, the leader of the children of the forest. I made everyone happy, and that made me equally as happy. Ordering around the other Kokiri gave me high satisfaction. They should have thanked me for all I did for them. But after so long, I got far more complaints than praise. I didn't get it, not at first. Then I understood. It had been the arrival of that baby. The Hylian child. Link.

Link's mother had come to our forest for aid. There was a war raging throughout Hyrule, we had been notified of this, but never thought much of it. Or, at least, I hadn't. But that day, when she had rushed into our village and collapsed, everything changed. We all took care of her, but she didn't last long. She died about three days after she had come. Before she had passed, she told us to take care of her son, Link. We gave her a decent burial within the forest. From that day forward, we were burdened with that baby. Though some didn't view it as a burden, I did. He way taking away _my_ attention. If I ever asked people to do something for me, they would protest, and run off to help with the baby. At first, I was completely shocked. That shock morphed into a grudge for the boy.

It especially made me angry that Saria, a beauty of all beauties, was ignoring me for Link. Not like she had ever gone to a great length to give me any attention anyway. Saria, she was certainly special. She had always been far more mature than the rest of the Kokiri, except me, of course. No wonder the Great Deku Tree, our guardian, entrusted her with the knowledge of the forest. She was always so nice. Everyone befriended her easily. All but me. She was nice to me, sure, but she never got as close to me as she did to everyone else. She held back. It made me jealous of all the others, and it made me jealous of her that everyone always adored her. But you can't stay angry with someone like Saria. You just can't. She always had a mysterious charming glow about her, and when she smiled, you felt your whole body warm up. Saria and I were the oldest of the Kokiri. Though our bodies didn't age past the mark of a fourteen year old, our minds, knowledge, and maturity grew. Me being around the four hundred point on the age scale, I yearned to kiss her soft lips. And it completely scorched me... that she... that she... just planted those lips on that small boy all the time. Giving him little kisses on the head and cheek.

Yes, Saria looked after Link far more than the others. She had taken an immediate liking to the blonde baby. As he grew, the more time she would let him wander around by himself. This delighted me, because that way, I could shove him into holes, into our pond, into the dirt. When I grew tired of giving him accidental trips and pushes, I'd give him a few sticks and go off to try to woo Saria. Link was easy to amuse and get rid of when he was smaller. Throw some sticks or rocks in a different direction and he'd go off to fetch them. He could keep busy for hours with simple things like that. But, even if Saria wasn't watching Link, she would still blow me off. One day I blurted that I loved her. She just simply smiled, put a hand on my arm, and told me that I was sweet, but she was still trying to figure out what love even was. But that was a lie. Because she loved Link. And she knew it.

I had thought things were hard when Link was but a tiny boy, but when he reached the age of ten, things got even worse. He started to speak out against me and my so-called cruelty. He became good friends with everyone. He was no longer the little blonde baby that everyone wanted to coddle and protect. Now he was an equal. Now I was practically alone. Not many people were too kind to me anymore. So I became more forceful. I threatened them. And it seemed even more rewarding. But not when Saria told me I was a jerk. That hurt, more than you could imagine.

I sighed with relief when Link finally moved out of Saria's house and the Kokiri worked to make him a house of his own. I still sniggered to myself at realizing that Link would never be a true Kokiri. He had never had his own fairy. Which made everything all the more amusing. I could tell that it made him feel bad. It made me feel giddy, looking at his sorrowful face when he gazed longingly at all the fairies. It put a little spring in my step everyday. Until, that is, the day he was summoned by the Great Deku Tree.

Not many people were summoned by the Great Deku Tree, I myself had only been able to speak with him a few times. Saria was called upon occasionally, and some of the Kokiri had never even seen him in all the long years they had lived in the forest. It was an honor to be summoned by the Great Deku Tree. And I wondered why, him, _Link_, was able to go see him so easily, so soon. Maybe it was because he didn't belong here, because he was different. Maybe the Great Deku Tree was going to kick him out of the forest, tell him to leave and go live among his own people. I had hoped so. But that thought and hope was drained from me when I saw Link emerge from his house with a blue fairy by his side.

When he came to the entrance of the Great Deku Tree's haven, I stopped him. Told him he couldn't enter without a proper weapon and a shield. He looked like he was going to tackle me, throw a punch, do whatever he could to get by. But with a flicker in his eyes, he turned away and huffed off. He could be so moody. But he didn't speak often, which was a plus. He mainly only spoke to Saria, with other people, sometimes he refused to speak. He was an abnormal kid.

When Saria heard that I had refused to let Link in without a sword and shield, she mistook that as a move of a brotherly love thing. Like I was trying to _protect_ him. Ha, as if. But what did I care? She had been nice to me for it. I never thought Link would actually be able to find the legendary Kokiri Sword. Even I had never found it, and I had lived in this forest for so much longer. So, when he came back to me, a victorious smile on his face, gripping that sword, I was shocked. I let him through in defeat, swearing to myself that I would get back at him. Receiving his own fairy, being summoned by the Great Deku Tree, and finding the Kokiri Sword all in one morning, what the hell was this kid?

Saria came to talk to me while Link was in with our guardian. I was surprised by this, too, because normally she _never_ approached me. "There's something different about him," She said with shining eyes, like she was proud.

"No doubt about that," I said through my teeth, not trying to look at her. She suddenly got very quiet.

"He's not like us..." She whispered. "I think he'll be leaving very soon... if he's being called to by our Great Deku Tree..." She was gazing into the mouth of our guardian's field. I didn't know what to say. If I had said anything that I wanted to, she would have just gotten mad at me again. So I kept my mouth shut. We stood there, the minutes went by. She just looked at her feet, while I looked at her. "I've got to go." She hurried off toward the Lost Woods, like usual. I was left standing by myself, staring after her. Bored, I sat down and gazed up at the sky. The spirits of the forest wove all around the place, free fairies roaming. My own fairy, Anu, poked out of my hat and floated around my head lazily.

"I wonder when he'll be done..." I said absently.

"That fairy... that the Link boy has... I know her. Navi. Little blue 'un. She used to have a kid, but he got lost in the Lost Woods. Didn't listen to Navi. Didn't go back, like she said. After so long, she lost him, too. Now he's one of them Skull Kids," Anu said wisely.

"That's who that is? Navi? I knew the kid that she was with. Tailore. He was foolish. Never had much common sense." We got by with talking about Navi, Tailore, and Link for awhile. It kept us busy, and it kept my mind off what was taking Link so long with the Great Deku Tree.

By the time it was nearing mid afternoon, I heard the soft thumping of someone running my way. I twisted my head around to see Link hurrying out of the field. His face held disbelief and terror. I jumped up and positioned myself in front of him.

"What did you do?" I accused. He stared at me and pushed past me, I heard him muttering as he rushed by. All I caught was little bits like, "Gotta leave... Deku... dead..." I watched after him, he ran towards the entrance of the forest... the path that led to Hyrule Field. There was something green, luminous in his hand. I let all of it sink in, trying to put the pieces together. And then it fit. I ran into the Great Deku Tree's field, what I saw completely confirmed that my hypothesis had been right. I was facing a dead forest guardian. My heart nearly stopped from surprise, but I was then consumed by anger. Link did this. He had killed our guardian. I let out a frustrated yell and ran back in the direction Link had gone. That _punk_! How could he? My heart beating wildly, I shoved the child that was supposed to be guarding the entrance of the forest. "You let him pass!" I snarled and continued to sprint after the Hylian boy.

I slowed down at the bridge that connected Hyrule Field and our forest. I didn't dare run into the field. I didn't want to die. I panted heavily, disgusted at the crime that had just been committed. It had been done right under my nose! I knew what that shining green rock had been. It was the Kokiri Emerald. Another one of our forest's hidden treasures. And Link had stolen that, along with murdering the Great Deku Tree. I was so deep in thought and blinded by my anger that I didn't realize the green-haired beauty watching me curiously on my side.

"Mido?" She called to me softly. I jumped.

"Saira?" I replied slowly. I stared at her in disbelief. "You let him pass, too! He just committed a number of serious crimes and you just let him go?" She looked into my eyes, not blinking, but her eyes seemed somewhat blank. What was that? Sorrow? Guilt? What? She opened her mouth.

"He committed no crimes."

"But... he... Great Deku Tree... murdered... stole the... Emerald..." I tried to explain quickly, cutting myself off and stumbling over the words.

"I... have been talking to the Great Deku Tree quite often recently. An evil man rode into these lands one night and put a curse upon him, because he refused to give the man the Kokiri Emerald. I am unsure of why the man wanted the emerald... but the Great Deku Tree, it was fate that he would die. Nothing could stop it, Mido. Do not blame Link. Our guardian told me that Link... Link is... special... and he is supposedly a 'chosen' hero of Hyrule. He... he's going to do great things. I just know it. Do not blame anything on Link. He did nothing. But he will, he will do wonderful things..." Saria said, gazing at the sky, a small smile on her lips. I thought for a moment. But that sounded like rubbish, how could I believe that? I was sure that Saria was just making excuses from Link. This was another one of her far-fetch stories that she told to the others on rainy days.

"You can't protect him forever. I am wise to your lies, Saria," I said coldly and turned on my heel, heading back into the mouth of our settlement.

After that day, Saria stopped talking to me. As in completely ignoring me. She was cold. Ice Princess kind of cold. She hardly came out of the Lost Woods... but no one knew how to find her in there. So she was hidden well. But she couldn't hide forever with those lies of hers. But two could play at that game, the more she ignored me, the more rumors I spread about Link. At first, the other Kokiri didn't believe me. But little by little, I converted them into Link-haters. I was having the time of my life. The others were starting to pay attention to me again, starting to love me again. Everything was so great. Link was gone, and I was the center of attention again. Everyone loved me again, all but Saria.

Link _did_ return to our forest domain every so often, but no one talked to him. No one even gave him a second glance. You could tell he was confused. You could tell it was crushing him. But every time we wouldn't speak with him, he disappeared into the Lost Woods. Obviously, he knew where Saria was. Lucky punk. Every new time he came back, he was tanner, he lost weight, but his muscles were building like crazy. It made me wonder if Saria's words were true. But how could they be? It made no sense. I got awfully curious, but I bit my tongue. I didn't want to make it look like I actually cared. Because I didn't.

After so long, things got weird, things got scary. Link didn't come back one day. He just left the forest from his daily visit to Saria, and he didn't show his eleven year old Hylian face again. The Kokiri were concerned, frightened. Had he finally met his end? Or had he become hidden among the lost? That blue-eyed baby they had all loved? Was he really gone? Even I, the Great Mido, grew concerned. Though I hated to admit it, without Link, life in the peaceful forest was boring, uninteresting. Though I hated to admit it, I _missed_ him. Worry and guilt ate at my insides. I wished I could take back every mean word I had ever said to him, just to get him back.

As the time went by, as weeks turned to months, and months to years, it became apparent to me just how serious all this was. Without the Great Deku Tree, our forest was being overrun by monsters from the world outside. We had never had problems with monsters before. We knew that the land of Hyrule was pure, that there shouldn't have been that many monsters infesting our home village. But reality slapped me in the face. Woke me up. The land of Hyrule was fighting another war. A war against a terrible evil. And Hyrule was losing.

* * *

Seven years, seven long years. That's how long it took for me to try and keep the Kokiri alive and well. And he was still always there in my mind. The thought of him made me a little stronger everyday. I was helping us all live for him. _For you, Link..._ I always thought as I positioned myself on top of my house, aiming the deku nut at the cursed Deku Scrubs with my slingshot. I got rid of them one by one, but they always came back during the night. My body was so worn from work, even though my body hadn't aged a single day since Link left, I looked older, ragged, tough. My skin was darker and felt leathery. My hair was long under my hat, large amounts of freckles scattered across my nose and cheeks.

Every time I killed those monsters, the other Kokiri got about an hour or two to come out of their homes for the day. It choked me up every time. I didn't know why. It seemed so childish, but then again, it was hard to be tough in times like those. It depressed me, and made me happy at the same time... that I had Saria now. She trusted me beyond all others. She said I had matured, outgrown my selfish ways. I had to admit, I especially softened down for her. Seeing her smile that sad, hollow smile, tore me up in side, but it also shined light on my own tragic life. Those nights I spent holding her seemed so surreal. I was finally getting what I had wanted, but I wasn't exactly happy about it. Happiness was missing. The Great Deku Tree was missing... Link was missing.

That day, when Saria called me into the forest... she pulled me close... "Mido, I know I can trust you... do not let anyone pass... please... this is important." She pressed those heavenly lips to mine, like I had always dreamed. They were warm against my own lips, but a strange, absent cold shivered through my body. It was my first, and most chilling kiss. When she parted from me, I wanted to grab her back, come back in for more. But I knew that wasn't appropriate. Not now. She stared into my eyes, like she was searching my soul. "I... I still love him, you know..." I choked on the air I drew in.

"I know..." I said, but then whispered, "So do I." She didn't hesitate in smiling at me. That smile wasn't hollow, like the others, it was real. She squeezed my hand and ran off into the Great Meadow. I sighed. With the air I let out, all my built up tension was let out, too. I had confessed to Saria, the girl I had loved for as long as I could remember, and more importantly, I had confessed to myself. That I actually... loved the boy.

I kept watch, like I promised. Even though I knew no one would come. But I had been wrong.

The man towered over me, creepy as hell looking. He had ash-green skin, fierce yellow eyes, and that long tangled red hair. He was covered with metal armor, a torn red cape flowing around him. I was paralyzed with fear. Whoever this was, this is who Saria wanted to keep out. But did she actually expect me to take this freak on?

"W-who are you?" I tried to say boldly, but ended up stuttering. He looked down at me with slight amusement.

"Move out of my way," He said in a low, rumbling voice.

"N-no!" I replied, "I cannot l-let anyone p-pass!" I slid into a defensive position. He stared down at me.

"You actually think you can stop the lord of this land? Me, Ganondorf? Don't make me laugh, kid." Lord of the land, what in the name of Princess Zelda was he talking about? I didn't say anything. You could tell he was getting frustrated. "Move!" He barked, knocking me out of the way. "I have some business to attend to, and I'm not going to let a stupid brat like you stop me!" He kicked me and stormed into the Great Meadow. I winced from the sharp pain in my side, but got up again and ran after the man. I had to protect Saria. I sprinted as fast as I could, sweat trickled down my face and it got hard to breathe, but that didn't stop me.

By the time I reached the top of those stone steps, I stopped dead in my tracks, hearing short screams. Screams that were clearly coming from Saria. She had been trying to get into the temple. But that man, Ganondorf, had caught her before she could. My eyes grew wide as the scene registered into my brain. The ugly man was clenching Saria by the neck, holding her off the ground. She was kicking, struggling. "You thought you were safe here, didn't you? Ha! I know what's going on. You sages thought I was stupid... stealing those stones from the kid was easy, but I knew it'd have to get hard at some point. Well, here's a message for you and your little friends, _I know what you were planning_! And I'm going to stop it... starting with you! And, trust me, I'll enjoy it." Ganondorf was yelling. Sages? All the information was swirling in my head rapidly. Frozen by fear and confusion, all I could do was watch helplessly.

"Saria!" I called out stupidly, my voice tight. Ganondorf's golden eyes flashed to where I was standing. He threw Saria to the ground and headed for me. I told myself to move over and over again. Pick up those damn feet, Mido! But my body didn't obey. He grabbed me by the left arm, with one quick motion, I heard a sickening crack and I was thrown against one of the earth walls. I couldn't feel my left arm at first, but then the throbbing pain traveled all up and down it. I knew it was broken and dislocated. A strange scream met my ears and it took my a few seconds to realize that it was my own screams. Hot tears streamed down my face. I had never hurt this bad in my entire life. I watched as Ganondorf went back for Saria. She scrambled to get up, but he was too fast for her. He lifted her by the right wrist and gave her a sadistic smirk. It was such a disgusting look. It made me feel slimy, dirty. I tried to breathe normally, but a sharp pain in my chest said that I had a broken rib, too, probably from the wall blow.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to know what he was going to do. But doing that made my head hurt, and every time Saria let out a whimper, my eyes shot open anyway. He smelled up her neck, the look of sick pleasure burst on his face when he licked her ear. She was crying so hard, but she didn't have any more strength to fight back. When she did try to hit him with her free arm, he threw her on the ground and with that same swift movement, he inflicted the same damage on her as he did me. Watching it happen to her made my arm hurt even more. I wanted to get up, help her, fight back, but I couldn't move, I could hardly even breathe.

With another quick movement, a flicker of silver met my eyes. He had pulled out a gleaming dagger. He was looking at it rather fondly, holding it out so both of us could see it, like he was bragging. Bragging about what he was going to do. Bragging about how much power he had over two Kokiri. Saria sobbed harder at the sight of the dagger, which made Ganondorf's expression grow even more triumphant. He touched her face softly. Softly? No, someone like him could never have any loving action, nothing he touched could be touched softly. But he touched her like he was so fond of her. Like another prize to his collection. But that's probably what he viewed her as. He removed that hand from her face and made it travel up one of her legs, up her tunic. He did something that I couldn't see, but it made her let out a little scream, which was mainly muffled by the grass around her face. Why was he doing this? To a girl, just a girl... just a teenage girl. That's all she could ever be developed as. So why was this so pleasurable for him? Because he was sick like that, a pervert, and it was free... open to him. Plus, it got an annoying pest out of his way... or so I guessed, from what he had been going on about.

Then the dagger came into play. He removed his hand from under her tunic and took the dagger. He traveled the tip up her leg, like he had done with his hand. Her crimson blood spilled onto the lush green grass beneath her. I bit my lip and tried to look away as her scream echoed around me. This couldn't be happening, it just couldn't. Ganondorf took the dagger away from her leg and started to write something on her arm with it instead. I couldn't see it, didn't want to see it. But he looked so proud of himself, kneeling there, playing with the dagger on her white skin. She had gone silent. But I knew she wasn't dead. She just had nothing more to give. After he had written a number of things across her arms and stomach, he threw the dagger aside and lifted her up. Another quick motion... another crack, a snap... and... and... I couldn't believe it. My salty tears flooded down my cheeks. I knew what he had done. He'd snapped her neck. She... was... gone...

Ganondorf let her limp body fall to the ground and he rounded on me again. He cracked his knuckles and smirked down on me. "Good show, huh?" He asked me. That gross look returning to his face.

"Y-You s-s-sick b-basta-," I attempted to let out. He stepped closer, but a sudden look of pain crossed his face and he whirled around. When his eyes broke away from mine, I immediately tried to get up, tried to crawl over to the lifeless, bloody form of Saria.

"So, you are still alive, I see," Ganondorf's voice cut through the silence. At first I thought he was talking to me, but when I glanced back at him, he was still facing the other direction, blocking my view of whoever was there. I pulled myself along the ground, flinching with every movement because of the pain. I saw why he had turned away from me, there was an arrow stuck, standing in the side of his back. He didn't seem bothered by it, but he was bothered by whoever was standing in front of him. With a few more painful moves, I saw the person. No one I'd seen before, but he stood tall in a tattered, green tunic. His rich golden hair peeking out of his hat everywhere. He made no sound, no action. He just stood there, feet planted into the ground, his bow drawn. A fierce look was in his eyes. It sent a chill up my spine. That expression, it looked so familiar. But... who? My mind knew instantly, the comparison clicking together perfectly. But how could it be him? He had been absent for seven years. Why did he decide to show up know, all those years later, when it was already to late. But it had to be Link. He used to give me that same, cold, hating stare. It felt like my heart was being squeezed, with happiness, guilt, and above all... hurt.

He hadn't seemed to have seen me. But he had seen Saria. That look of fury, it was for her... it was directed toward her murderer, her tormentor. The ghastly, perverted man that had his back toward me. Link tucked his bow away quickly, drawing his sword. Why hadn't he been there before? To draw that mighty sword upon that man before he could have even laid eyes on Saria? With a great shudder, I started crying again, moving for Saria. Ganondorf turned back toward me, glaring at the disturbance. He raised an arm and something dark and glowing began to form in his palm. He was going to do away with me as fast as he could. I realized that instantly.

"Mistake!" Link cried, lunging at Ganondorf, his blade sunk into the man's shoulder, and he stumbled over. With a yell of frustration, Ganondorf spun around, attempting to hit Link. But Link had predicted this move, and ducked, pulling his sword back out of the man's flesh. More blood spilled onto the grass from his open wound. He clenched his teeth and starting thrashing here and there, hoping he'd hit Link in the process. Link took out what looked like a hookshot, raised it, and fired it. The hook landed in Ganondorf's other shoulder, apparently hitting a nerve, paralyzing him. Link, taking his chance, hurried up and thrust his sword into Ganondorf's neck and kicking him aside. There was so much blood, everywhere... mine, Saria's, Ganondorf's... I'd never seen such a hideous sight. I felt like throwing up.

Link stood up straight and looked directly at me. My insides froze and melted all at the same time. A trickle of my blood dropped from my brow down to my nose. And as I laid there, bleeding, he just stared at me. Minutes passed, and it was so unbearable. "Link..." I let out, my voice sounded raw and raspy. It sounded so different, so strange. He moved toward me awkwardly, like he wanted to comfort me, but wasn't sure how. He slid his sword back into it's sheath slowly and bent down by me.

"Mido?" He breathed. I gave him a weak smile and then sobbed. He looked so much older, so different from what I knew. But he had turned out to be handsome. I missed his little kid face, the cute little face that I was so used to. But I had to convince myself, show myself, that times had changed. Because they had, so much had changed. Link did the last thing I expected him to do. He put his arms around me, embraced me. He was gentle, but firm. And so warm. At first, it startled me, and I flinched. But I calmed down and melted into his arms, against his chest. Had he missed me? I hoped so, because I had missed him so much. More than words could even describe. I was just so relieved, to finally have things at peace... well, almost at piece. I knew everything wasn't alright, but being held by Link like that, right there, made it feel like everything was at peace, that everything was alright. Suddenly, Link pushed away from me, that cold look back in his eyes. He grasped my arms tightly, and my broken arm throbbed violently.

"Why did you let her die?" He demanded bluntly. My stomach dropped.

"I-I didn't..."

"Then why did you sit there and watch her die!" His eyes were wild, it was... frightening.

"I couldn't help!" I cried. "I couldn't move... I tried... but nothing..."

"Liar! You could've help... you could've sacrificed yourself-."

"And what good would have that've done?" I yelled over him, surprised by my tone. "Then both Saria and I would've died, and she wouldn't have wanted that! You of all people should know that, Link! Besides, why are you screaming at _me_, lecturing _me_? You have no idea what it's like to sit there, watching helplessly as such a sick man as him tears apart one of the people you love the most! You didn't watch her die, hanging there, mangled, _dead_. So don't you _dare_ lecture me!" I was sobbing again, I felt so weak, but I couldn't stop those damn tears from falling down my face, wetting my cheeks, my tunic. Link stared at me in disbelief. He bowed his head.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean..."

"Don't be sorry," I snapped. "Nothing can be done now... it's already happened... already done..." I ended in a whisper. Something was looming behind him. I couldn't open my mouth fast enough before-

_**CRRAACCCKKK**_

Link fell to the side, unconscious. "Now that was your mistake," Ganondorf's smirk overpowered my thoughts. No, we were going to lose... he had survived... no... "Thought you could get rid of me easy, didn't you. Pathetic kid. Though I admire that you were able to survive all these years while keeping quiet," He said to Link. He was holding his fists high. I assumed he had hit Link so hard that part of his skull had cracked. It was too awful to think about. I couldn't start crying, not again. I didn't want to give that pleasure to Ganondorf. "So, it's just you and me, eh?" He know spoke to me. He didn't seem threatened. But why would he be? After all, I was just a small Kokiri.

As he approached me, a sudden wave of courage surged through me. I grabbed Link's sword, though it was heavy, and as quickly as I could manage, I forced it into his chest. I could feel one of his ribs break under the might of the sword, and the tip surfaced on the other side. I had pushed it clean through. He hadn't been expecting that at all, I could tell by the expression of utter shock played on his face. With a last breath, he coughed up some blood, and fell backwards, forcing the blade back out. I sat there, confused and amazed by my own actions. It took a long time for me to realize what I had just done. I had killed the man. I had killed him. It was over...

I pulled myself toward Link's now lifeless body. His skin was so cold. The top of his head bashed in... I touched it tenderly, but drew my hand back in a flash. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them again, I bent down and placed a long kiss on Link's faded-pink lips. When I took my lips from his deathly cold one's, I didn't shed a single tear. But I looked down at him seriously and said, "I never got to tell you... but, Link... I love you. And I guess that'll be something your ears will never hear..." Hearing those words come out of my mouth made me feel so... empty... so full of grief. I was too afraid to look at Saria, to look at those horrendous marks... but I would have to look at her if I was going to give her a decent burial. I knew by instinct what to do. But I didn't want to. I knew where I'd bury them... right here, in the Lost Woods... then perhaps their spirits could roam freely with the others. I already knew that the fairies they had had were reborn... since they had been killed as well. Fairies were always reborn within the forest... and they always found a child to be with. It reminded me of Anu, who had died about a year ago. She was sick... and had died. I never had gotten a new fairy.

With all the thoughts of fairies and spirits... and the people I loved so much... it made another tear stumble down my cheek. I managed to get up and stagger over to Saria. I picked her up gently with my undamaged arm and carried her over to where the body of Link was. I sat silently between their bodies for a long time. I didn't know the time, I didn't care. I watched them sleep, the never ending sleep. At least they could dream now. Be lost in their dreams. Lost in their dreams forever.

"Goodnight... Link... Saria... Promise to keep dreaming about me, and I'll always dream of you..." With that, I kissed their fingers, one-by-one, and drifted off into my own dream.

The Kokiri children never did find me. For I was hidden among the lost.

The End...

Keep dreaming, my little Skull Kids...


End file.
